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Improving your performance as a runner isn’t just about physical strength, it’s also about mental strength. Sara P. D. Chrisman, MD, MPH, associate professor and assistant director for Community Outreach at the Sports Institute at UW Medicine, provides tips about how to use mental, physical and social strategies, to deal with hitting a wall on race day.
What is mental strength
Mental strength isn’t about grit or white knuckling it — it’s developing a relationship with your body so that you can handle any stress that comes your way.
“I like the term ‘mental strength’ because, in the same way that you can build physical strength and run faster, you can also get better at being resilient,” says Chrisman.
An important part of mental strength is the ability to notice how your body responds when you’re feeling scared or anxious. Stress is caused by your nervous system dumping brain chemicals into your bloodstream to help you respond to an external trigger, also known as the fight or flight response.
When this happens, it's hard to just shake it off. But you can learn to refocus and reset.
Awareness is the first step, or realizing that you’re feeling anxious, angry or scared.
“Mental strength starts with emotional awareness — you have to notice when you’re having an emotional reaction in your body,” says Chrisman. “After noticing your emotions, you then have to accept them and decide what you want to do with them.”
There are a lot of different ways of moving through a tough emotional moment. For example, if you find yourself tense and stressed the morning of your race, you might be the type of person who feels better after running a lap around the track or splashing water on your face. Or maybe you want to text a friend or blast your favorite song.
“Finding ways to release your emotions helps dissipate the chemical reactions in your brain so you can get back in the game,” says Chrisman. “No one wants a stressful moment to ruin their race.”
The goal of building mental strength is to become confident in your resilience and ability to handle whatever happens.
How to build mental strength
Building mental strength doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a lot of work. Chrisman describes three strategies to get there.
”You need to practice when you’re not stressed, otherwise, it’s like trying to learn to ride a bike with a tiger running after you,” says Chrisman. “If you work these kinds of strategies into your training, they’ll become like second nature and you’ll be able to draw on them during a stressful race.”
Develop a mindfulness practice
When it feels like you’ve hit your limit, Chrisman says, it’s common to want to fight your body with thoughts like, “I’m going to do this no matter what.” But pushing your body in this way isn’t the best approach — instead, try having a conversation with your body.
“You will never win that fight against your body,” says Chrisman. “There’s no division between our mind and our body. Getting on the same team with your body is the best way to help you win.”
This is where mindfulness comes in. For athletes, being aware of how you interact with your body can help you push through those challenging moments and reset your focus.
“Mindfulness is being in the moment — it’s the zone; it’s the flow,” says Chrisman. “So, when you start to see that breathing and mindfulness can work to improve your focus, you realize these are things you can work on to get better as an athlete.”
In a race, this might mean taking a moment to notice your emotions and sensations. For example, you might feel a little sweaty and jittery and realize you’re worried about not finishing the race. If you know this is going on, you can acknowledge this feeling, and then help your brain come back to the present moment. There are lots of ways to do this, like counting your breaths or focusing on objects of a certain color in the environment. If you can get your brain out of this stuck place, you can get back in the race.
“It’s like a superpower to be able to pull yourself back into the moment using just your breath,” Chrisman says.
Wondering where to start?
Fuel your body
You’ll find it a lot easier to handle stress on race day if you’re taking care of your body. Fueling your body is not only about prioritizing your nutrition, but also staying hydrated and making sure you have enough time for recovery.
Plan what to eat before, during and after your run, stay hydrated and allow your body to rest.
And perhaps most importantly — get enough sleep. We’ve always known sleep is good for you, but we only recently have had data showing how much it can impact performance. Getting the right amount of sleep (maybe even more than 8 hours) improves your speed, increases your endurance and makes you less susceptible to injury.
Find your running community
Whether you’re running to get your best PR or just to cross the finish line, you’re not the only one on this path. You’re sharing a unique experience with others training for the same race, and tapping into these relationships for support can benefit everyone involved.
“Social support impacts mental health by buffering the impact of stress on mood, and it can help you get through a tough moment,” says Chrisman. “Having a cohesive team also makes you a better athlete by improving your self-confidence and persistence. It keeps you accountable.”
So, when you’re training, partner up with a friend or call them after to vent about how frustrating those last few miles were. It can help in the long run (pun intended).
Final race tips
At the end of the day, listen to your body. If something in you is begging you to slow down or to take a break, don’t ignore those signs — that's part of building mental strength, too. You have what it takes to avoid (or bravely face) that much-dreaded wall.
